Quick Review Flashcards - Click to flip and test your knowledge!
Question
What is the literal meaning of the word 'Sangam'?
Answer
Association or assembly of Tamil scholars and poets.
Question
Where were the three successive literary gatherings of the Sangam Age held?
Answer
The city of Madurai.
Question
Which century range defines the period when the Sangam gatherings took place?
Answer
Between the first century BCE and the second century CE.
Question
According to legend, who attended the first Sangam?
Answer
Gods and legendary sages, including Sage Agastya.
Question
What is the oldest surviving book of Tamil grammar, produced during the second Sangam?
Answer
Tolkappiyam.
Question
Who is the author of the Tolkappiyam?
Answer
Tolkappiar.
Question
Who wrote the Tirukkural (or Kural)?
Answer
Thiruvalluvar.
Question
The Tirukkural is organised into how many chapters?
Answer
133 chapters.
Question
Name the three sections into which the Tirukkural is grouped.
Answer
Aram (righteousness), Porul (wealth), and Inbam or Kamam (pleasure).
Question
Which section of the Tirukkural focuses on public affairs?
Answer
Porul.
Question
Name the five major epics of Tamil literature mentioned in the text.
Answer
Jivakachintamani, Manimekalai, Silappadikaram, Valayapathi, and Kuntalakeshi.
Question
Define 'megaliths' in the context of the Sangam Age.
Answer
Box-like structures built with stone slabs resting on each other without mortar.
Question
What was the purpose of stone circles or boulders placed on the surface above megaliths?
Answer
They acted as signposts to help people locate burial sites for future returns.
Question
What can be inferred from megaliths containing more than one skeleton?
Answer
People belonging to the same family were buried in the same place at different times.
Question
The presence of tridents in Sangam graves indicates faith in which deity?
Answer
Lord Shiva.
Question
Which historian identified the Sangam Age with the last phase of megalithic culture in South India?
Answer
Champakalakshmi.
Question
What does the term 'muvendar' mean in the context of Sangam poems?
Answer
Three chiefs, referring to the heads of the Chera, Chola, and Pandya ruling families.
Question
Which modern Indian state largely comprised the territory of the Sangam Cheras?
Answer
Kerala.
Question
List the three common titles used by Chera kings.
Answer
Vanavar, Villavar, and Malaiyar.
Question
What was the capital of the Chera kingdom?
Answer
Vanji.
Question
What was the royal symbol of the Chera kingdom depicted on their flag?
Answer
Bow and arrow.
Question
Who was the most popular king of the Sangam Cheras?
Answer
Cheran Senguttuvan.
Question
Which epic describes Senguttuvan's expedition to the Himalayas to build a temple for Kannagi?
Answer
Silappadikaram.
Question
Who is the author of the Tamil epic Silappadikaram?
Answer
Illango Vadigal.
Question
What is the 'Pattini cult'?
Answer
The worship of Kannagi as the ideal wife.
Question
Which modern districts of Tamil Nadu were part of the Chola kingdom?
Answer
Thanjavur and Tiruchirappalli.
Question
What was the capital of the Sangam Cholas?
Answer
Uraiyur.
Question
What was the chief port and second capital of the Sangam Cholas?
Answer
Kaveripoompattinam (or Puhar).
Question
What was the royal symbol of the Cholas?
Answer
Tiger.
Question
Who was the most popular king of the Sangam Cholas?
Answer
Karikalan.
Question
Which major dam was built by King Karikalan across the river Kaveri?
Answer
Kallanai.
Question
What was the capital of the Pandyan kingdom?
Answer
Madurai.
Question
What was the chief port of the Pandyas?
Answer
Korkai.
Question
What was the royal symbol of the Pandyas?
Answer
Twin fish.
Question
Which Pandyan king is known for defeating the combined forces of Chera, Chola, and local chieftains at Thalaiyalanganam?
Answer
Nedunchezhiyan.
Question
Who were the 'Velirs' in the Sangam period?
Answer
Local chieftains who ruled in different parts of Tamil Nadu.
Question
What were the 'Seven Patrons' of the Velirs collectively called?
Answer
Kadaiyelu Vallalgal.
Question
Which Sangam poet served as a diplomat in the court of Adhiyaman?
Answer
Avvaiyar.
Question
Where is the Keeladi archaeological site located?
Answer
Along the Vaigai river in the Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu.
Question
Recent studies at Keeladi have repositioned the Sangam Age to which date range?
Answer
800 BCE to 300 CE.
Question
Define 'stratigraphy' in archaeology.
Answer
The study and interpretation of the layers of soil, sediment, and debris that accumulate over time.
Question
Which social class in Sangam society was assigned the duties of learning and performing sacrifice?
Answer
Brahmanas.
Question
Who were the 'Vellalars'?
Answer
Landed aristocrats who held high positions of office.
Question
By what term were ordinary ploughmen known in Sangam society?
Answer
Uzhavar.
Question
What were landless labourers called during the Sangam Age?
Answer
Kadasiyar and adimai.
Question
What is the concept of 'tinai' in Sangam literature?
Answer
The division of the whole area into five distinct eco-zones or regions.
Question
Which tinai refers to the hilly backwoods inhabited by hunters and gatherers?
Answer
Kurinji.
Question
What was the primary means of subsistence for people in the 'Palai' (parched zone)?
Answer
Plunder and cattle lifting.
Question
Which tinai refers to the pastoral tract where animal husbandry was practised?
Answer
Mullai.
Question
Which tinai refers to the wetlands inhabited by people subsisting on plough agriculture?
Answer
Marutam.
Question
Which tinai refers to the littoral land inhabited by fishers and salt extractors?
Answer
Neital.
Question
How was poverty generally viewed in Sangam society?
Answer
As a natural result of the past actions of men.
Question
What was the main agricultural crop of the Sangam Age?
Answer
Rice.
Question
Aside from agriculture, which crafts were most widely practised?
Answer
Spinning and weaving of cotton (and sometimes silk).
Question
What was the primary method of trade in rural Sangam areas?
Answer
Barter.
Question
In the bigger towns, what were the established markets called?
Answer
Angadi.
Question
List three major commodities exported from Tamil land during this period.
Answer
Pepper, ginger, and cardamom (also pearls and ivory).
Question
What were the main items imported into the Tamil kingdoms?
Answer
Horses, gold, and glass.
Question
Which ancient Greek text describes the trade between India and the Roman Empire?
Answer
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
Question
What archaeological find in the interior of Tamil land indicates the extent of Roman trade?
Answer
Roman gold and silver coins.